A new study from Germany’s Transport Ministry found that there is extensive potential to install arrays of solar panels along motorways across the country.
The study identified around 250,000 potentially suitable areas for solar energy generation, which is enough land to generate dozens of gigawatts of power, the ministry said on Tuesday.
Germany’s total installed solar generation capacity is currently 95 gigawatts, according to figures from the Federal Network Agency.
Susanne Henckel, a top official at the Transport Ministry, said that solar generation should be included in the planning of future motorway construction or expansion projects.
A law passed last year by German lawmakers paved the way for installing solar panels along motorways in the country.
The next step for solar development along motorways would be to catalogue the plots of land available for potential solar development in cooperation with the state-owned company that operates Germany’s motorway network.
